Last month, we shared how recent advancements in Google Search — including AI Overviews and new features in Google Lens — are transforming the user experience and opening up new opportunities for businesses to connect with their audiences. To better understand these advancements and how they can benefit marketers, we reconnected with Brendon Kraham, Google’s VP of search and commerce, global ads solutions. Let’s dive in.
Brendon, thanks for speaking with us again. What do recent innovations like AI Overviews, new features in Google Lens, and Circle to Search mean for advertisers?
Satisfying human curiosity is what has propelled Google Search for 25 years. Believe it or not, 15% of the searches we see each day are completely new,1 and this has been the case for more than a decade. But we also know there are so many questions that don’t get asked, because people don’t have the words to describe them or think they’re too complex.
That’s where these latest innovations come in. They open up new ways for people to ask questions and get great answers. In this way, Google AI is helping people do more than they could ever imagine with Search.
Consider AI Overviews. It combines the magic of the LLM experience with high-quality results from across the web so we can quickly find information — even for long or complex questions that may not have a single “right” answer. In fact, those who are using AI Overviews actually search more, are more satisfied with the results, and visit a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions.2
Last month, AI Overviews began rolling out in more than 100 countries and territories around the world. With this expansion, AI Overviews reaches more than 1 billion global users every month.3
Google Lens is used for over 20 billion search queries every month, and 1 in 4 visual searches using Lens has commercial intent.
Visual search capabilities are changing the game too. Think of all the things we didn’t search for because we didn’t have the right words. No longer a problem! Now we can search by snapping a photo, taking a video, or even just circling what we see on the screen with Circle to Search.
This technology is gaining popularity, making Lens queries one of the fastest growing query types on Google. Google Lens is used for over 20 billion visual search queries every month,4 and 1 in 4 visual searches using Lens has commercial intent.5 So the next time you’re at the airport and a backpack catches your eye, rather than trying to figure out the exact product name to type into Search, you can just tap the Lens icon in the search bar and snap a photo (or upload one from your gallery). You’ll instantly see details like price across retailers, current deals, product reviews, and where to buy it.
It’s clear that Search ads work well for driving conversions, which likely confirms what marketers already know: Search ads deliver performance. But how does Google Search factor into the consumer journey as a whole?
Billions of discoveries are made on Google every day. In fact, the vast majority — over 80% — of Google Search ad spend on web search comes from nonnavigational queries where consumers are actively searching for information and exploring options.6 This means that users are not simply navigating to known websites through a Google Search. Contrary to what some social platforms say, people are coming to Search with an open mind.
Search is also where users come to decide. Google is the No. 1 touchpoint consumers say lets them make smart, informed decisions.7 And although we may hear a lot about social-inspired spontaneous purchases, our recent research with Ipsos shows the incidence of this is actually quite low. Most people plan or research their online purchases. In fact, when purchases are socially influenced, consumers tend to use even more platforms to evaluate their purchase beforehand.8
In particular, they turn to Google Search to conduct further research, validate information, and compare options before making a purchase. Seventy percent of social media users use Google Search to inform and evaluate products discovered on social.9 When they come to Google to do more research and compare, they’re not only looking for more information about the product they saw but also about similar products. That’s why it’s really important for advertisers to be where the decisions are made, and that’s Google Search. Plus, the new Google Shopping experience, which uses AI to intelligently show the most relevant products, helps to speed up and simplify that research. Simply put, Google Search is where consumers come to decide between a brand and its competition.
Marketers are paying a lot of attention to Gen Z’s search behaviour. How are Gen Z consumers searching today?
Gen Z are heavy users of Google Search in general. Signed-in users aged 18 to 24 issue more queries each day than other age groups.10 Eighty percent of Gen Z uses Google for their shopping, including discovering, browsing, getting ideas, researching, and/or purchasing.11 Given the trust that consumers have in Google, this is not surprising behaviour from Gen Z. Consumers are more likely to say that they trust Google “to provide them with the most relevant information and content” as compared to other top online platforms.12
Circle to Search sees particularly high engagement among Gen Z (ages 18 to 24).13 It allows users to search what they see on social media, while they are watching YouTube videos or scrolling the feed, without having to leave the app. And the people who use this feature keep coming back for more. A third of the users who have tried Circle to Search use it weekly.
So it’s safe to say that, from discovery to decision, Google Search remains a significant force in Gen Z users’ lives.
What can marketers do to take advantage of these innovations in Google Search?
Here’s the bottom line: Marketers using Google’s AI-based advertising solutions are reaching consumers across all the new ways they are searching. They’re also getting the best AI for the best ROI. Why? Because the AI that powers these Search innovations also powers Google advertising campaigns. When you ask them, advertisers are more likely to say Google Search provides a good ROAS, more than any other paid advertising platform.14
The AI that powers Search innovations also powers Google advertising campaigns.
To get the best results, advertisers should use off-the-shelf AI solutions like broad match, Smart Bidding, and automatically created assets. And, to ensure your brand shows up well in all the new search formats, keep up with Search and SEO best practices and build helpful, reliable, people-first content.
Finally — and I can’t emphasise this enough — now is the time to take a hard look at your measurement across channels to make sure you are making good decisions about your media based on real apples-to-apples comparisons.
With innovations in Google Search, we’re not just helping marketers run better ads. We’re helping them run better businesses.
